Shall I Count the Ways?
by Risaku
Summary: Saso/Saku. Akasuna no Sasori, or, 'A.S', is a world famous painter. The only problem: No one knows who he is, what he looks like, or where he is. What's this? He needs new inspiration. Throw in a pink haired faerie, and you get?
1. Unseen Artist, Faerie Tale, Pink Faerie

**A/N: Ellohellellohell. I promised you a new SasoSaku, and here it is. Haha, sorry about My Pet!**

Chapter 1

He was a world famous painter, an artist. This artist believed that beauty was to last forever and a lifetime, and would sometimes paint random things; trees, bridge scenes, people. No matter what came from his easel, people loved it. Gallery executives always tried to get a hold of 'A.S' masterpieces to display, women fantasized about the mysterious artist, believing that he was no doubt, _handsome_, rich, and **sensitive**, and rival artists tried to base their artworks off of his ideas.

One of the things that draws people to this artist, was the fact that no one had _ever_ seen him, the man behind these brilliant works of art. No one ever knew how angelically handsome the young prodigy was. The mysteriousness of it all draws people of all ages, races, even genders; to his art. All of them try to interpret what kind of person he is.

You could call 'A.S' a phantom, of sorts. Whenever he had a new project finished, a random person in the art industry would have a mysterious package arrive at his house-an honor, of course, and they would get specific instructions. Only a fool would disobey those instructions. Over the course of the next few days, tabloids and newspapers would be all over, trying to pin the location of the person who received the package, and see if that person caught sight of 'A.S'.

At the moment, 'A.S' was in one of his many 'headquarters' around the world. Currently situated in New York City, and scrambling for some inspiration. You see, A.S had already had 47 of his works published, and he was at the tender age of 23. Many people had wanted to bring home a copy of his paintings, so they were mass-produced.

Though, contrary to popular believe, He wasn't exactly, 'unseen', as many may believe. They just didn't know what he looked like, therefore, didn't know when he was right in front of them. But, since I'm nice, and have seen him with my own eyes, I'll describe him.

His name was Akasuna no Sasori, Sasori of the Red Sand. He had wild cinnamon hair that was sort of medium length, and captivating moonlit silver eyes. He was lean and tall built, with a cold, unforgiving aura. Though somehow, his looks attracted women to him like flies to honey. They always tried to please him wherever he went, impress him with their bodies, clothes, and material possessions. However, he was never looking for a companion, it seemed. A true loner. Anyone who tried to approach him was coolly ignored, he was polite, but very aloof. He tried to avoid any unnecessary chatter, and avoid unnecessary attention.

Anyway, he was currently trying to think of something to do. The weather was cold and dreary…Oh! Maybe he'd try to paint that! No….#34. He already did that. He needed…something passionate to paint. Something…new. Refreshing. Usually he doesn't need to even try! Well, with that thought, he picked up a pair of binoculars off of his bureau, and looked out his window. He spotted something …pink? He didn't know that there were any flowers around. Maybe he'd paint those.

Focusing in, Sasori saw that it wasn't a recently planted flower, but a girl. The pink he saw was her _hair_. Yes, a real live girl, with _pink_ hair. Who knew? Maybe he'd watch her for a while…he already had his fingers itching for the touch of his pencil and tablet.

The girl was small, and slim. Perfectly proportioned. She had startling green-silver eyes, thigh-length pink hair, and naturally pale skin. The contrast of pale skin against her vibrant hair made her eyes pop, and she even looked like a faerie..

THAT'S IT!

He'd use this pink haired woman as his model, and paint her as a faerie. Just like the faeries in the story his grandmother used to tell him.

_**-Flashback-**_

_**A six year old Sasori was sitting at the foot of an old woman in a big, plush, green armchair. The old women had graying hair, but still sat straight as a rod, her stern face twisting into a kind smile.**_

"_**Sasori, would you like to hear a story?" the old woman rasped. Her aged voice hoarse and wispy.**_

"_**Yes Grandma Chiyo!" young Sasori exclaimed. **_

_**Now, little Sasori wasn't the same cold, aloof man he is now. This was a time when his parents were still alive, Grandma Chiyo was alive and telling stories, and a time when his eyes sparkled with love, childish innocence, and curiosity.**_

"_Well, a long time ago, before the lands were divided into states; before the Indian tribes roamed the lands; and even before the dinosaurs, there were just humans and creatures. Yes, unicorns, vampires, werewolves, pixies, enchanted trees, talking animals. They all existed, long ago._

_The creatures and humans knew of each other's existence, but taught their children to stay away from the other. However, one day, there was a man who got lost when out hunting. He was badly injured, for he was locked in battle with a lioness. When the fight ended, the raging lioness ran away to protect her cubs, and the man lay motionless._

_What the man didn't know, was that there was someone-__something__ out there. He wasn't alone. _

"_If only I saw my family again.." the man cried, closing his eyes in defeat. '__This is the end,__' he thought. He soon fell unconscious, unaware to the world around him._

_When she realized he was no longer in the land of the conscious, the curious little pixie came out of her hiding place. She was a beautiful creature. She had ice blue eyes with snow white curls. She was dressed in a white-blue gown that flowed out at the bottom. Though she was a small creature, she was still big enough to be ¾ of the man's size. _

_Curious, the little pixie by the name of Serenity, bent down and felt the man's pulse. It throbbed faintly, meaning the man was in danger. She looked around, and saw no one. She knew the man needed help, and so, even though she knew she was breaking the unspoken law, she closed her eyes and used her pixie magic._

_Giving a nod, and saying a spell in her head, she easily teleported the man to her tree. She worked quickly through the night, her hands emitting a green glow of supernatural forces. The green glowing hands ran over his washed wounds, and left behind no scars, or any sign of them being there._

_The man stayed asleep for 3 more days, and for all 3 of those days, the pixie cared for him. When he finally woke up, he woke up to a sight!_

_In front of him, was a beautiful, unearthly creature._

"_Who are you?" he asked, eyes wide. It took him a moment to register that she was __not__ human, and that he was __not__ supposed to interact with a creature. He hastily jumped up, and put the clothes beside the bedside on. Suddenly, he became dizzy with the sudden movement and collapsed. In a heartbeat, the creature was by his side, and supporting him._

"_Be still," she spoke in a calm tone. The man looked her in the eyes for the first time, and fell in love. She looked at him lovingly, and kissed his forehead,"_

"_**Yuck! Grandma! Kissing is gross!" Sasori exclaimed.**_

"_**Shh, Sasori. Listen." Chiyo replied, continuing with her story.**_

They spent days together, secretly meeting when either had free time. Neither told their societies (humans for the man, creatures for Serenity) about their escapades. During their times together, their love grew and grew. Serenity learned that the hunter's name was David, and David learned that he could love no other like he loved Serenity. To him she seemed more of an angel than a pixie.

_3 years passed, and their relationship was never discovered. On the 12__th__ day of the 2__nd__ month of the 3__rd__ year, David asked Serenity to marry him, and they were secretly married. _

_Two weeks after their marriage, Serenity had great news! They would be having babies. With each day, her belly swelled and swelled. You see, pixie pregnancy is a shorter process than the human cycle. For pixies, it takes 2 weeks until they give birth, whereas for humans, it takes 9 months._

_Anyway, fellow creatures in the creature society noticed the swelling of Serenity's belly, and did not know of her husband. They drove her out, thinking she was having an illegitimate child, and she was alone. Everyone, even her family, shunned her. Later, the ignoring became hostile, and it turned to hate. Yet, Serenity's love for David and their children was greater than her peoples' hate. She persevered, and on the night when she was able to meet with David, she was planning on telling him the great news. Once she was done with her explanation, her breathing became labored, and she fell backwards. In a swift, smooth, movement, David was behind her._

"_It's time, my love." She replied, her breath coming in short pants._

_David carried her to the home he prepared for all of them, and placed her on the bed. After a while, 1 head was visible; and soon after that, 3 babies came out. _

_Serenity and David were so happy! They were blessed with 2 girls and a boy. Their first daughter had curly pink hair, and their father's green eyes. Their second daughter had red tufts of hair, and ice blue eyes. And last, their son had white hair, and silver eyes._

_They named their first daughter Sakura, the second daughter Hanabi, and their son named Yuki. All 3 children had more pixie-like features, from their mother. So, as a joke, David and Serenity declared their children to be 'faeries', human and pixie combined._

"_**And so, Sasori, that was how faeries came to be." Chiyo finished, closing her eyes. Sasori's eyes widened,**_

"_**Grandma! What happened? Are there anymore faeries?" the excited boy asked. Chiyo chuckled, and opened her eyes, smiling softly at her grandchild.**_

"_**I don't know, Sasori..someday, you just might find one, if you look."**_

_**-End of Flashback-**_

Sasori blinked, and closed his eyes. _'Grandmother Chiyo..' _he thought. In that instant, he knew he'd create the perfect painting. The pink haired girl would be Sakura, and he'd paint her in a scene, helping a human man. That's it!

And so, with this decided, Sasori scrambled for his camera. He took quick shots of the pink haired woman, and smiled to himself. _'I'll make the perfect painting…and it'll be for you, Mother, Father, Grandmother.'_

**A/N: Mmhm! So, that's my new story. What do you think? I hope it's good enough for you guys. Again, I'm sorry about changing My Pet.**


	2. Angel of Sorts, Dango, Jealousy, MINE

**A/N: Ahaaa! 2 chapters in one day. Now THAT's kewl. XP Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

Yes, Sasori had already started researching his ..'subject', if you will. Her name, surprisingly, was Haruno Sakura, age 20. What do you know? She looked like the faerie child Grandmother Chiyo described, and had the same name, too!

Sakura was the personal assistant for a big-time C.E.O, Uchiha Itachi, of _The Paper Fan Industries_. She worked whenever her boss called her in, without complaint. He learned, however, that if someone did something she didn't believe was right, she would speak her mind and become very feisty.

He had the honor of watching her defend a small child who had a run in with a thug, with surprising brute strength. Perhaps there was more to this pink haired faerie than he first assumed. When she wasn't working with Uchiha, she volunteered wherever she could, and she was especially easy to get along with for the elderly and young. She was known all over this neighborhood, and not just for her strange hair color! The people called her the _Green Eyed Angel _or _Tenshi_, because apparently this woman was also from Japan.

She had no family, that he knew of so far, and was not having an intimate relationship with any man, though he had found out she had a lot of admirers. Though she didn't seem particularly close with anyone except the people she met during volunteering, she did have a white tabby cat with ice blue eyes. She named it, 'Destiny'.

Was she a faerie descended from David and Serenity? Was his grandmother right about finding a faerie? Is this all coincidence? Sasori had no idea.

All he knew, was that Sakura seemed to get more beautiful by the day, and it was hard to make even a rough sketch of his painting, because he could never draw her right.

It would either be her hair wasn't drawn in the right direction, or her eyes didn't hold the fiery passion; even her hands! He found it hard that he couldn't make them even look nearly as soft and dainty as he'd seen them.

It was then, where he decided he had to meet this girl…to have her actually model for him. It would not do for an artist of his stature to make such an amateur's mistake: not using a model when the opportunity is there.

With Sakura

Sakura felt an involuntary shiver go down her spine, again. It'd been happening a lot, lately. She always felt like she was being closely watched, as though her every move was being recorded. _'Nonsense..'_ she thought, giving a shrug. She straightened the pile of papers on her desk, and stood up. She walked over to the door closing off her office from Uchiha-san, and gave a firm knock.

"Hn." _Enter._ A smooth baritone voice …grunted. Sakura opened the door, and stepped in.

"Uchiha-sama, I have organized all of the reports for the following weeks; finished organizing your file cabinets, from Z-A, just the way you wish, and I ordered your lunch, that I will be picking up in 15 minutes." She replied sweetly, smiling gently.

Uchiha-sama was a handsome man of 22, a prodigy, and the successor of his father, the late C.E.O. He had stunning long onyx locks that made women jealous, equally onyx eyes, rumored to turn crimson when angered, and two identical lines starting from his tear ducts, ending to the end of his nose. He wore an expensive, black tailored suit, with a silk crimson tie, and Armani shoes. (No idea if Armani makes shoes or not, the idea: he's freakin' rich.)

"Hai, Sakura-chan. Good work." He replied, one of his mouthcorners tilting up a bit. He raised his hand and did a 'shoo shoo' motion, before turning back to his laptop. The intense clicking of the keys was heard, in the comfortable silence. Sakura smiled to herself, and walked out of his office, closing the door.

"Ah, it's time to fetch Uchiha-sama's lunch." She said to herself, going to the closet in her office, and taking her black peacoat out. She walked to her full body mirror, and checked herself out, making sure she was presentable for this important atmosphere.

Sakura wore her long locks in a white ribbon tied at her nape, and wore no make up. She had a white turtleneck long sleeved shirt, covered with a black vest, and a black pencil skirt. To top off her work clothes for today, she had stylish black boots. Not, 'OHMAHGAWD HOEBOOTS!' boots, but, boots that say, 'I'm classy.'

She smiled at herself, and put her coat on, tying the belt.

"Alright! Yosh!" she pumped her fist in the air, and picked up her purse. She made her way through the building, going down 17 floors in the elevator, and checking out at the front desk. She smiled at her friend, Yoko, and made her way out the door.

The sixth-sense thingy she had alerted her again, that she was being watched. _'What is this? Is someone watching me?'_ she thought, as she looked all around her. She was on the busy sidewalk, bustling people trying to avoid hitting her, taxis carting people around, and hot dog stands on every corner. Out of all these sights, she hadn't seen anyone who seemed to be _watching_ her. _'Hmm…I best be hurrying with Uchiha-sama's lunch. He might reprimand me if I'm late.'_ She thought, hurrying to 'pick up' Itachi's favorite dango and green tea lunch.

Though he didn't know it, Sakura always lied about going to pick up his lunch. Sakura actually made his dango and green tea lunch herself, and packaged them all pretty. But, what Uchiha-sama didn't know, wouldn't kill him..at least, not her delicious dango. Unless of course, he ate so much that he…well, that won't happen, right? Haha.

* * *

Yes, he watched her look for him on the sidewalk, and almost got himself caught in the process. He watched the exchange between the overachieving beauty and her..dare he say it, _handsome_ employer. When he watched the way she smiled at him, and the way he smirked back, he felt an unpleasant emotion curl up in his stomach, and he felt like slamming '_Uchiha-sama_' into a fucking concrete wall. Now, over the short ((coughcoughLIAR!coughcough)) time he's been 'researching' Sakura, ((coughcough 5 months!coughcough)), he'd have to say that he might have….sort of…..come to….._like_ the girl. **His **beautiful **faerie** girl. Even though he'd never actually come into interaction with her, he's been there for 5 months, watching over her. Like…an angel, of sorts. He _knew_ that he just _had_ to have her. Be it for his artistic purposes, or….

* * *

She'd finished making his lunch and was promptly getting back to the _Paper Fan_'s building, saying 'Hi' to Yoko, going up 17 floors, hurrying into her office, setting his lunch down, taking off her coat and hanging it up, making herself look presentable and not hurried, picking up his lunch, and firmly knocking. Of course, she did this with as much grace God had given her.

* * *

Itachi smirked at his best friend's antics, and said his signature 'Hn.' In came Sakura, holding his lunch, which smelled delicious, of course. Sakura smiled at him, and he nodded in return, and she set his lunch on his desk. Though his lunch was always wrapped up pretty, he knew it was from no restaurant. Only his dear Sakura-chan could make such delicious dango. He knew she made it because:

He's her best friend. (Since grade school, she would always make dango and green tea lunch for him.)

He's her boss.

She knows that he fucking loves her dango.

She's fucking awesome like that.

'Nuff said.

Like usual, Itachi smiled a real smile, meant only for her eyes.

"Thanks Kura-chan!" he replied, trying not to sound as excited as he was. As soon as the aroma hit is nose, his mouth watered for her dango.

"Hai, Itachi-sama." She replied, giving her smile, meant only for him. His heart started to beat erratically, and he had no idea why. His palms started to sweat, and his eyes started to widen a little.

"Uchiha-sama, something wrong?" Sakura asked, very concerned for her friend.

* * *

Sasori, of course, knew very well what was wrong with dearest _Uchiha-sama_. He'd finally figured out he fucking loved his precious _Kura-chan_. Sasori closed his eyes, and counted down from 10.

_10…Uchiha's going down…_

_9…he's so fucking dead…_

_8…how dare he fucking like __**my**__ faerie, when he's fucking had her since forever?_

_7…deeeeeep breaths…_

_6…she's going to love __**me**__._

_5…she's going to be __**my**__ model._

_4…she's __**my**__ inspiration for __**my**__ new masterpiece._

_3…she's __**mine**__._

_2…Uchiha, kiss Hime good-bye._

_1…__**I WILL WIN**__._

Sasori opened his eyes, now that he was…sort of calmed down. Sakura left Itachi's office, and Itachi was sighing delightedly with dango in his hand. Sasori narrowed his eyes.

'_How should I approach her? I need to get this painting done fast…I need her.'_

**A/N: X) Sasori be jealoussssssss. But don't worry. Itachi does ****NOT**** get the girl this time. :P I promised, since this is the make up SasoSaku. Please review. Like? Dislike? Let me know! ^^**


	3. You Are My Sunshine, Sketches, Zander

**A/N: Ohmygod. I last updated in….DECEMBER! D: I'm so sorry. X.x**

**I do not own Naruto!**

Chapter 3

"_**The other night dear, as I lay sleeping. I dreamed I held you in my arms..but when I woke dear, I was mistaken. And I hung my head and cried.."**_Sakura swayed to her singing, as she was fixing supper for herself in her small apartment. She smiled to herself as she remembered Itachi smiling at her again.

"_**You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much..I love you. Please don't take, my sunshine away.."**_ She carefully stirred her soup, trying not to make a mess and spill. Little did she know, that a certain artist with binoculars was watching her movements.

Here he was again, sitting at his window, watching his faerie cooking. He'd done this many times by now, and learned that she enjoyed singing when doing this task. Today, he was delighted that she had her window open, making it easy to hear her tinkling voice. He closed his eyes and listened to her voice, the voice that made such a simple song sound so lovely….

"_**I'll always love you, and make you happy, if you'll only say the same. But if you leave me, to love another…you'll regret it all someday."**_ Sakura turned the heat off of her stove, and set the steaming pot on top of a rack. She bent over and opened her dishwasher, picking out a red bowl and a fork. _'She eats soup with a fork? How peculiar.'_ Sasori wondered. As soon as she gathered her dishes, she poured the soup carefully into her bowl, and set the pot in the sink.

"_**You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much..I love you. Please don't take, my sunshine away.."**_ and her voice faded a little bit as she sat on the other side of the room. However, the lowered volume did nothing to change its loveliness. Sasori sighed as she was completely away from the window now, and opened a black, leather bound sketchpad. He picked up a nearby gel pen and started to draw absentmindedly. The sketch started with a single line; and so the line had become a strong Sakura tree, and under the Sakura tree was a woman with long curling hair, cradling a dying man. When he was finished, Sasori paid attention to his sketch for the first time; the scene held a feeling of peace and sadness, as if the woman knew that she couldn't save the man, and the man accepted the fact that he would die. However, such a feeling of love had been etched into their faces—even though it was a sketch, and the image was black and white, the viewer could feel the intense love in the picture. And strange enough, Sasori had been stuck in his thoughts of Sakura, and hadn't even been paying attention to his sketch. Ah! He had an idea! Yes..he could see it now. What if he slipped this under her door? What would she do with it? This thought interested him indeed.

-

Again, Sakura felt as though she had been watched, and she was quite happy to be away from the window. She set her bowl on the table and pulled out a chair. On the table was some reports that needed to be proofread for Uchiha-sama, Itachi's younger brother. She sipped her soup, occasionally marking mistakes with a red pen. _'What is this? He usually doesn't make so many mistakes! Argh, Sasuke..'_ she thought, heaving a deep sigh. She had zipped through half of the first page, and there were already 17 red marks. She'd have to talk to him about this; carelessness just wouldn't do. Especially if he's supposed to be the heir to the company! Jeez. Sakura rolled her eyes as she thought about the younger Uchiha.

Uchiha Sasuke was about 21 years old, a childhood friend of Sakura's, and Itachi's younger brother. He had spiky, blue-black, duckbutt hair (though he often denies this), pale skin, and very dark, seemingly black eyes. He was taller than his brother and had a broader build, whereas Itachi was lean and lithe. Sasuke was very popular among the ladies, like all Uchiha men. But unlike his brother, Sasuke flirted back tenaciously. He was almost getting to be as bad as his old classmate, Inuzuka Kiba!

However, when it came to his work, Sasuke was usually in tip-top shape. Even as a student, his work was always in on time, and correct; his tests always top marks. He'd forever been living in his brother's shadow, however—which was one of the reasons for the face he made when others mentioned his brother's name. He often was found in his office, late at night, scrambling to get work done—that wasn't due for another week. And that's where Sakura came in—he always had her proofread all of his stuff, because he'd never been the best at spelling and grammar.

"Bleh! Sasuke you idiot." She replied, sticking her tongue out at an imaginary Sasuke. Her soup was left forgotten as she worked hard on Sasuke's reports, finding ridiculous amounts of stupid mistakes. _'Sasuke…you're not supposed to use purple for these charts! It's supposed to be red. What is wrong with you?' _ finding yet another mistake, Sakura finally settled for scribbling in a frustrated manner, all over the stupid graph.

"Fine. If you're not going to do it right, I'll do it!" she sighed deeply, and pushed her chair back. She stopped momentarily, her exhaustion finally catching up to her. She closed her eyes for a moment, and started to sing again…

-

"You told me once dear, you really loved me—that no one else could come between. But now you've left me, and love another. You have shattered all my dreams.."

There it was again..she continued her song. Sasori closed his eyes and was almost lulled to sleep by her singing, but when she stopped, his fingers were itching for a writing utensil. He looked around him and couldn't find the gel pen he'd been using previously, so he ended up falling gracelessly off the windowsill and onto the chic carpeted floor. He moved his hands around blindly, trying to find the pen.

…

He ended up smacking his face against an end table when he finally spotted a pencil; he reached under the table, but the pencil was out of his reach—so he started squirming in strange ways, trying to obtain the said object. However, each time, the pencil just seemed to move further and further away. By now, he'd accidentally hit his head again and was hissing at the sheer impact. 'Argh…chikuso..' he cursed to himself, outstretching his hands as far as they'd go.

"Why won't the goddamn pencil just—come out?!" he snarled, finally giving up and retracting his arm. He sat there with his legs and arms crossed, turning up his nose and looking away.

Sasori looked back at the pencil.

It just stared back.

Sasori glared at the pencil.

It laughed at him.

Sasori threw a gel pen at it.

WAIT!! A gel pen?! Where did that come from?

"ARGH! NO!!!" he let out a frustrated yell, glaring at both the gel pen and the pencil.

They merely stared back, mocking him. Tired of this game, Sasori left the room as calmly as he could muster, and returned with some charcoal. He resumed to his previous spot on the windowsill, and threw a dirty look at the writing utensils under the end table. He looked around him, searching for his skechpad.

…

"Goddamnit, not again.." he muttered, getting off the windowsill to look at his spot. "Oh. There it is." He picked up the sketchpad and sat on the windowsill once more, opening to a fresh page. 'What should I draw now?' he thought, glaring at the utensils under the end table; they wasted his time and made him forget what he wanted to draw. Sasori started to sulk, just sitting up there with his legs crossed and his eyes diverted somewhere out the window.

-

Sakura finished redo-ing Sasuke's faulty reports, and placed them in a red folder, and put the folder on the table. She went over to the sink and poured herself a glass of water and emptied a Crystal Light powder drink mix into it, stirring it with a straw. She took a sip of the pink liquid and sighed contentedly—'Ah…strawberry. My favorite.' She swished the liquid around a few times and took another sip.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Sakura set her glass on the counter, and started for the door. "I'm coming," she called. When she opened the door, she found one of the young girls she often read to. The little girl had long braids of brown hair with purple bows at the ends, freckles, very pale skin, and a cat. Yes, in her arms was a big white tabby cat with enchanting green eyes.

"Susanna? Why are you here? And who is this cutie?" Sakura asked, bending down to the little girl's level. The little girl started to shake a little bit, and the shaking soon turned into sniffling—and following the sniffling, came crying.

"Miss Sakura, I told you that I was moving, right? Well, my mommy said that I can't take Zander…and I don't know what I should do with him! All of the people I know do not like cats, and my last option is to…is to take him to the ASPCA! I don't want to take him there, please! What should I do?" the little girl sniffled and rubbed her eyes, the said cat's tail swished back and forth, listening to their conversation. Sakura held her hand out in front of Zander, and the kitty accepted her and licked her hand affectionately, purring like a motorboat. Sakura held her arms out and Susanna handed the furball over to her, giving Zander a kiss on the nose.

"Miss Sakura, does this mean you'll watch him for me?" she asked hopefully, looking up at the older girl. Sakura closed her eyes in a gentle smile, and nodded. She stroked the kitty's tail, and Zander watched her through his glowing orbs.

"Oh thank you!" Susanna cried, and she rushed to hug Sakura. Sakura held the kitty in one arm, and used the other to hold the shaking body to her. She shushed the girl, trying to calm the hysterical girl down.

"Everything will be okay—Zander is safe with me. In fact, if you give me your address, we can write letters! And every letter, I'll send you a new picture of Zander. How does that sound, Susanna?" Sakura spoke calmly, rubbing soothing patterns on the girl's back. Susanna sniffled for a bit longer, but finally nodded.

"Yes! Thank you so much!" and Sakura invited the girl further into her home, where the two discussed the living arrangements of Zander, and any special conditions he may have.

-

Sasori was a bit bored, and so his charcoal moved swiftly across his sketchpad. His eyes were blank, and he made no noise. For the start, Sasori kept drawing a curved line, and kept drawing over it. Each time, the line became longer and a bit more shapely, and before he knew it, a white tabby stared back at him. The tabby sat in a regal position, its nose high in the air, but its eyes shining. Behind the kitty, Sasori drew a windowsill and made it look as though it were raining outside. When his charcoal stopped moving, he stared at his drawing. 'A cat, eh? It looks like Sakura's.' The drawing spoke of a spoiled kitty, who was very lonely and sad. Sasori scribbled his initials across the bottom right corner, and dated it. When he was done, Sasori looked out the window—and he found Sakura's kitty staring back at him.

WAIT.

No, it wasn't Sakura's kitty…it had green eyes. '..When did she get a new cat?' he wondered.

**A/N: Uh…this…sort of, sucked..Haha. I'm sorry. ; I'll like, rewrite a new one or something. Or just make the next chapter. Thanks for reading my crappy story! Bye!**


	4. Creepy Cat, The Purple Cow, Faerie Dream

**A/N: Hello again!**

**Ah, before the story continues: I'd just like to thank my reviewer **_**shadowjettailsclub**_**. Not only were you my first reviewer for this story—your last review made me happy. I really was upset, thinking that the last chapter was stupid; almost to a point that I wanted to just delete this story. But, hey! What do you know? Here we are, at the beginning of CHAPTER FOUR. YEAH!! :D Thank you!!**

**Yes, and thank you very much to ALL of my reviewers! :'D Each and every one of you are appreciated.**

**Lastly, please go to my profile and answer my poll. Which story of mine do you like best? Your answers matter. The two stories that get the most votes shall be updated at a faster rate, and be my main focus. Thank you! **

Chapter 4

Sasori stared at the kitty, studying it. Indeed, it was **not** Sakura's usual cat, 'Destiny'. No, Destiny had cold blue eyes. As he looked a little bit closer, he noticed that the cat was a bit larger than the other, and seemingly more aloof. He'd found that Destiny was an affectionate cat—as affectionate as the picky creatures would get—but the green-eyed one seemed to glare at everything. _'What a creepy cat.'_ He thought, looking away from the window. He glanced back down at the cat sketch in his lap. _'..a cat..seriously?'_ he sighed, a tad disappointed. By now, he'd thought he would've confronted Sakura face to face. But—cough—uhm, Of course Sasori wasn't nervous. Psh. What a ridiculous notion!

He rose from his seat at the window and disappeared somewhere in his apartment.

-

After Susanna left, Sakura merely sat at her kitchen table, petting the new kitty, Zander. He seemed to be quite a little boat of love, twisting this way and that to get her magical finger's attention. But soon enough, Sakura became a bit exhausted, and the kitty gave her an understanding lick. He jumped off the table with panther-like grace, and opted to sit on the windowsill. Sakura heaved a sigh, and patted Destiny on the head, the feline giving an affectionate, yet lazy, 'nyah'. She made her way through her apartment to her room, and promptly fell onto her bed, closing her eyes. _'So..tired..'_ she thought, closing her eyes and immediately falling asleep.

Zander stared out the window, to catch sight of a man staring at him. Though a cat, Zander arranged his face to look as though he were glaring at the man. Soon enough, the red head moved away from the window. _'Hmph. My mistress.'_ Zander thought. Yes, as soon as Sakura put her hand near him, he'd declared her his mistress. He would protect her—well, as best as a cat could—and fend off the vile. Hehe!

-

Sasori lazed around his apartment—actually, he was pacing feverishly. How should he approach her? Should he approach her yet? Hn..so many questions! He decided he needed to try and clear his thoughts, for his stomach gurgled and reminded him that he hadn't eaten yet. He made his way to his front door and grabbed his black trench coat and black sunglasses, carefully putting them on. He took a quick glance at the mirror next do his door and blinked. His hair was tousled in a 'devil may care' fashion, his silver eyes partially hidden by the attractive sunglasses, and his fashionable trench coat that he loved oh-so much, was tied snugly. He smiled a little bit at himself, feeling like a total girl for stopping for such reasons, and was out the door.

Soon enough he was walking down the cold streets of New York, his nose and aristocratic cheekbones tinged pink from the chilling wind. Though there were many places he could have stopped at already, he was still walking to who-knows-where. Momentarily, he thought _'what is the point of this foolishness? Its freezing and I'm damn hungry.' _As though to praise his thoughts, his stomach let out a quiet gurgle. Sasori sighed, but kept walking around in the cold. His mind seemed to be forever focused on Sakura; whether it be about her gorgeous eyes or her admirable personality.

BEEEEEP! BEEP BEEP!

"Hey! Idiot! Ya mind walkin' any slower, yer highness? Now scoot yer cooch already!" a thick New York accent bellowed.

The angry honking of a horn brought Sasori out of his thoughts, and he merely glared at the cab as though to say _'Watch it, fool.'_ The cab driver, a burly looking man, shrunk back a little, his face growing a bit pale from intimidation. Sasori brushed this off and quickly crossed the busy street, ignoring the many onlookers. _'You know, it sort of was your fault.'_ His mind told him, but Sasori waved this thought away, yanking a corner café's door with more force than needed. The bells on the door smacked harshly against the door and a woman with gaudy makeup and horrendously bright blond hair offered him a bright smile. _'Yeuch. That's gross..'_ Sasori thought, as he tried to look anywhere but the woman's makeup-globbed eyes.

"A table please." He replied curtly, trying to appear interested in the chalkboard behind her. She smiled that big smile again, and took a menu from the podium. She started walking in a way that might resemble one who was trying to seduce another, her hips swinging from side to side. However, Sasori was not one to look at such places, so he hadn't noticed.

"Right this way, hon," she replied in a honey-sweet tone. She led him to a purple booth near the window, near the kitchen. _'Hmph. Probably so she can ogle me..'_ he thought. And what do you know? He was right. She set the menu down and once again smiled that smile. She batted her blue eyes at him and kept staring as though she expected something. He stared at her coolly. She still smiled that smile.

"Just let me know if ya need anything sweetie, the name's Ino," she purred, going away with a wink. Sasori's left eye started to twitch madly and he quickly sat in the side of the booth so he wasn't facing the kitchen. _'..maybe I shouldn't eat here..'_ he thought, involuntarily shivering. Brushing his earlier thoughts to the back of his mind, Sasori opened the purple menu and scanned its contents.

'_Hmm..hot dog or tuna sandwich..?' _he pondered.

-

Ino was gazing dreamily at the redhead's—well, red head. She was a little disappointed that he chose to sit the opposite way of her range, hiding his beautiful face from her. Oh well. It was usual that guys always came into _The Purple Cow Caf_é, since this was a busy street in New York. There were always men here for business lunches, or some of those rich nerds from Wall Street catching a bite to eat. But none of them were like this one..he was absolutely beautiful. _'He's as hot as one of them Uchiha men!'_ she squealed in her mind, her hands pressed to her cheeks.

"Oi, Blondy!!" a voice gruff voice called from behind the kitchen doors. Ino rolled her eyes and heaved a deep sigh, making sure to give an attitude-y stare to her manager, Shikamaru. He scratched the back of his head and heaved a deep sigh as well, narrowing his eyes at her. _'Damn infuriating bitch..' _he thought sullenly, crossing his arms. Shikamaru Nara was an extremely smart guy—but also extremely lazy. He often wore green and wore his hair in a rather strange pony tail that looked like a pineapple, always seen with a lazy stare. Many often wondered why he was stuck in this restaurant, when he obviously could be in a prestigious college

"Psh, you know very well that my name isn't Blondy! It's INO. I-N-O. For such a genius you claim to be, you're a complete idiot, ya know?!" she vented, her cheeks glowing red from her little snit. Shikamaru's face was blank but his hands were clenching and unclenching. He took a deep breath.

"You don't need to spell it out for me, little girl. So, get to work and stop ogling the customer. You have many more angry customers at tables 9 and 5. Get to work!" he barked, disappearing once again into the kitchens. Ino huffed, her eyebrows knit into a frown.

"Hmph. Whatever." She mumbled, pasting on a smile for said tables. First, was table 9. There, an impatient looking guy around her age, with spiky black hair, a black suit, and a dark blue tie, gave her a glare. She kept smiling, her writing pad poised.

"Yes, what can I get you dears?" she replied, choosing to look at the friendlier looking blond boy. He had dark whisker-like tattoos on his face and wore a black suit with an orange tie.

"Ramen!" the blond one grinned widely. Ino, totally confused, arched her brow.

"Uh, sweetie, we don't have 'ramen'.." she replied slowly. The dark haired one smirked and looked completely hot—he smacked the blond upside the head.

"You idiot, we're not in Japan. If you wanted ramen you should've stayed in your office." He replied. He turned his gaze to Ino once again, and she felt herself melt. She hadn't noticed that she had been staring at him for such a long time, until he cleared his throat and started glaring at her.

"I want a strip steak, well done. Make _sure_ it is well done. I want a baked potato, green beans, and corn. Make sure none of the food is touching. _Absolutely none of the food can touch._ Hear me? _None._ Make sure there is extra butter, too. And I require a glass of water. 5 ice cubes. Got it lady? **Five**." He finished blankly, nearly tossing the menu at her. Ino was fuming inwardly. _'He's a hottie, but his personality? Not so much. Fuck him.'_ She thought, just nodding at him. She looked at the blond again, and he was rubbing his head.

"Ah, Ino. I'd like a cheeseburger and fries please! Oh, and a root beer, thanks." he smiled a foxy grin at her. _'Not as pretty, but he's cute. He's actually __nice__. Hmph. Stupid hot jerk guy.' _She nodded at the two and threw Naruto a smile, disappearing behind the counter. She rang the bell and hooked the ticket onto the wheel. Chouji, a heavyset man with spiky orange hair beamed at her. She glared at him and walked away,

"Just fill the order," she seethed. Chouji, undoubtedly smitten with the shrew just kept smiling, checking out the ticket and preparing the food.

-

Sasori, finally decided, snapped his finger. Ino came immediately, batting her mascara-caked eyelashes and smiling. He merely stared at her with a nonchalant face and pointed at his choice on the menu.

"I would like to have a cup of chicken noodle soup with a side of fries, please. And could I have a glass of Mountain Dew, too?" he spoke in his silky tone, smirking a little at Ino's face. She might've started drooling then and there. Heh. She started to nod feverishly, scribbling his order down on the small pad of paper. When she was done, she tucked her pen behind her ear and threw him a wink.

"Right away, sweetie." She drawled in that fake sugary tone of hers. As she walked away, Sasori rolled his eyes. He glanced at the napkin on the edge of his table, and took a pen out—and being the artistic, bored person he was at that time, he started to 'doodle', as others would say. Like most, if not all his art—it started with a line. He kept staring blankly, still not really paying attention to what he drew. And in a matter of seconds, Sakura's pretty little face was staring up at him. He grimaced. _'The eyes aren't right at all! I did the shading wrong—its too dark. God, I'm stupid..why can't I ever draw her right? I'm supposed to be really good, right?'_ He let out an inaudible sigh as he crumpled the napkin up.

-

Though she was supposed to be answering to table 5, she couldn't help but to take the handsome redhead's order. She closed her eyes and sighed blissfully. _'If only I could get a guy like him..'_ she thought wistfully. But a loud ringing broke her train of thought.

_**Ding. Dingdingdingding. DING.**_

Ino glared and looked at the source. Her lips curled into a feral sneer, and her smoky shadowed eyes narrowed. She placed her hands on her hips and leaned to her right side.

"What?!" she snarled, trying to put as much intensity as she could into her dirty look. Shikamaru was totally unperturbed, and shrugged her off—literally. _'Why the hell do I have her around again..?'_ he asked himself. He didn't even bother to narrow his eyes either, for it'd just be too much work. _'Ugh, women are intolerable, infuriating beings. Why did God have to make them?!'_

"Don't make me have to tell your lazy self again. Get to work." He deadpanned, his hands in his pockets, his position a slouch. Ino huffed and pursed her lips defiantly. _'If he didn't control how much money I make, why, I'd go off on him like there was no tomorrow!'_ she fumed.

"Che. Whatever." She rolled her eyes at him and went off to table 5. There, she saw a brunette woman with her hair tied in two identical buns on either side of her head and a man with extremely long, darker brown hair, almost black. The woman wore an expensive looking dress coat, and the man wore a brown suit with a dark green tie. She smirked at the two and sat herself down rudely on their table.

"Hey _sweetie_," she purred to the man. His eyes narrowed and he looked the other way. The woman across from him frowned deeply.

"Just what the hell are you doing, _Ino_?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes. But she held a stare with the blond woman. Ino smiled sickeningly sweet at her.

"Well you see Tenten, I was just wondering how _you_ could ever land a hot _piece of ass_ like this one, here. I mean, you're nothing more than a whore dressed in fancy clothes." Ino smiled smugly at the flustered looking Tenten. The bun hair brunette was glaring daggers at the blond, willing her to say more. Neji, also infuriated at this behavior, snapped his head back to face Ino with a glare that said, _'Say anymore and you shall meet your impending doom.'_ But Ino ignored this, smirking at Tenten.

"Stop harassing me, you pig. We just came here to eat, okay? I don't want to fight with you." She replied curtly, her fists clenching and unclenching under the table. But still, Ino pressed on.

"You DARE call me a PIG?!" her voice rose to different levels, accentuating her fury. Neji rolled his eyes at the unclassy girl, and set his menu down.

"I believe we will no longer be needing your services, lady. Goodbye." And with that, Neji stood up and seized Tenten by the hand, promptly removing them from the restaurant. Ino smirked more and her eyes closed. _'..just another sucker.'_ She thought smugly. She reopened her eyes in time to see Neji hold open the car door for Tenten, who smiled 'demurely'. _'Che. And just another expensive whore.'_ And again, her train of thought was broken by the sound of a bell.

_**DING! DINGDINGDING! DING! DING!**_

"INO!!" Shikamaru roared, "KITCHEN! NOW!!" pushing the door so hard it was swinging back and forth. Ino winced a bit at Shikamaru's tone—never, in all of her time bothering him, had she ever heard him yell like _that_. Ino timidly made her way into the kitchen, this time scared of what would happen. Shikamaru's face was red, his lips set in a deep frown, and his arms crossed.

"Why did you do such a thing, stupid girl! We'd lost a customer. If you do anything like that ever again—no, I should just fire you now! Argh! You..you.." it seemed he was too furious for words. Eep! Not good. Ino squeezed her eyes shut and leaned against the wall for support.

"..Infuriating woman!" he sighed deeply and uncrossed his arms. His eyes seemed cloudy and troubled.

"Please..Ino..just don't do that again, okay? Firing your dumb ass means tons of paperwork for me, and I just don't want to do it." He sighed again and disappeared. Ino sighed in relief. Good, she wasn't fired. _'..I'd better be careful or else he'll totally flip his lid.'_ She thought.

_**Ding! Ding! **_

This time, she smiled—a real smile.

"Tables 9 and 2! Order up!" Chouji called, smiling as well. She made sure the orders were all perfect, not wanting the dark haired man to flip at her. She balanced table 9's orders on one tray in her left hand, and the redhead's stuff on a tray in her right. She smiled at the blond, while balancing the left tray on her hip. She carefully placed all of their dishes on their table, finishing off with Blondy's root beer and Mister Hot Jerk's water with_ five goddamn ice cubes_.

"There you go dears, anything else I can get ya?" she blinked. Blondy pursed his lips as though he was thinking, and Mister Hot Jerk just stared at her with those irritatingly blank eyes.

"No. Go away." Guess who? Heh. Blondy just nodded in agreement, but smiled as though to apologize for his..friend? Yeah. Ino just smiled and walked away with her last tray, happy to get away from the Jerk.

-

Ino came back after a while, smiling differently. It seemed—not fake. Sure, it was pretty, he supposed. But Sakura could definitely outshine this woman. Tucking these thoughts away, Sasori nodded politely at her as she came over, balancing a tray. She set each item down carefully, trying not to spill anything.

"Careful, hon. It's hot." She replied as she placed his soup. She finished, placing his Mountain Dew on the table with a straw.

"Anything else ya need, sweetie?" she asked, holding the tray at her side. Sasori shook his head and said a polite 'no thank you'. Nodding, she walked away.

Sasori unrolled his silverware set, and stared at the spoon, fork, and knife. He closed his eyes momentarily and smirked a bit. Even when eating, he was plagued by thoughts of _her_. He picked up the fork and smiled at it—if anybody else had seen him smiling, they would have totally thought he lost his mind, or perhaps, for the romantic or poetic types; he would have looked like he was remembering a fond memory, or contemplating a funny story of a long lost love. _'Sakura-chan eats her soup with a fork—what a peculiar girl.'_ He thought. He set the fork down and opened his eyes, taking the napkin and placing it on his lap. Tearing at the straw's wrapper, Sasori idly wondered if Sakura liked to use straws or drink without them.

-

Through the hour, Sakura slept. If somebody had stepped into her room, they would've been awed at the sight of the beautiful cats curled up together, against her, and squee'd from its cuteness. Unlike many, Sakura didn't move in her sleep. From the way she crashed onto her bed, she laid on her back, her head tilted to her left.

Destiny was the first to join her. The cat jumped onto Sakura's bed, purring. She stared curiously at her mistress, finally deciding to share her warmth and also, fall asleep. She curled up into the spot on Sakura's left, fitting perfectly into the curve of her body. She stayed awake a while, her eyes repeatedly scanning the room, always listening. Finally, her blue orbs closed and she was fast asleep, dreaming of things kitties dream of, still purring, even in her sleep.

A while later, Zander too, slinked into Sakura's room, wondering where Destiny and Sakura had been. It'd been quiet, he thought. A bit too quiet. But as he saw the two on the bed, he calmed considerably, satisfied that what was in his mind hadn't happened. He jumped onto the bed and settled himself next to Destiny. He nuzzled her nose with his and entwined both of their tails, purring affectionately.

Meanwhile, Sakura was in the land of dreams…

_Sakura was in a dark, blank place. All around her, was just black. It wasn't scary, wasn't lonely. It was just..dark. But suddenly, she heard an unfamiliar raspy voice, and saw an old woman in a rocking chair with a small boy at her feet. Their faces were blurs, but she could tell by their voices. It seemed, the old woman was the child's grandmother. Sakura smiled—it was nice to see children so happy._

[[Alright, so the italicized and bolded text is just Sasori's memory of Chiyo telling him the faerie story. You can skip this. However, when it is just italicized and not also bolded, you probably should read it.]]

"_**Well, a long time ago, before the lands were divided into states; before the Indian tribes roamed the lands; and even before the dinosaurs, there were just humans and creatures. Yes, unicorns, vampires, werewolves, pixies, enchanted trees, talking animals. They all existed, long ago.**_

_**The creatures and humans knew of each other's existence, but taught their children to stay away from the other. However, one day, there was a man who got lost when out hunting. He was badly injured, for he was locked in battle with a lioness. When the fight ended, the raging lioness ran away to protect her cubs, and the man lay motionless.**_

_**What the man didn't know, was that there was someone-something out there. He wasn't alone. **_

"_**If only I saw my family again.." the man cried, closing his eyes in defeat. 'This is the end,' he thought. He soon fell unconscious, unaware to the world around him.**_

_**When she realized he was no longer in the land of the conscious, the curious little pixie came out of her hiding place. She was a beautiful creature. She had ice blue eyes with snow white curls. She was dressed in a white-blue gown that flowed out at the bottom. Though she was a small creature, she was still big enough to be ¾ of the man's size. **_

_**Curious, the little pixie by the name of Serenity, bent down and felt the man's pulse. It throbbed faintly, meaning the man was in danger. She looked around, and saw no one. She knew the man needed help, and so, even though she knew she was breaking the unspoken law, she closed her eyes and used her pixie magic.**_

_**Giving a nod, and saying a spell in her head, she easily teleported the man to her tree. She worked quickly through the night, her hands emitting a green glow of supernatural forces. The green glowing hands ran over his washed wounds, and left behind no scars, or any sign of them being there.**_

_**The man stayed asleep for 3 more days, and for all 3 of those days, the pixie cared for him. When he finally woke up, he woke up to a sight!**_

_**In front of him, was a beautiful, unearthly creature.**_

"_**Who are you?" he asked, eyes wide. It took him a moment to register that she was not human, and that he was not supposed to interact with a creature. He hastily jumped up, and put the clothes beside the bedside on. Suddenly, he became dizzy with the sudden movement and collapsed. In a heartbeat, the creature was by his side, and supporting him.**_

"_**Be still," she spoke in a calm tone. The man looked her in the eyes for the first time, and fell in love. She looked at him lovingly, and kissed his forehead,"**_

_At this point, the two were talking again. She couldn't quite make out the words, but she knew from the tone that the little boy made a comment about the kissing, and the woman was scolding him. Sakura giggled to herself. Kids were just so cute—especially when they're at the stages of believing in cooties! Hehe!_

_The raspy voice began again:_

**_They spent days together, secretly meeting when either had free time. Neither told their societies (humans for the man, creatures for Serenity) about their escapades. During their times together, their love grew and grew. Serenity learned that the hunter's name was David, and David learned that he could love no other like he loved Serenity. To him she seemed more of an angel than a pixie._**

**_3 years passed, and their relationship was never discovered. On the 12th day of the 2nd month of the 3rd year, David asked Serenity to marry him, and they were secretly married. _**

**_Two weeks after their marriage, Serenity had great news! They would be having babies. With each day, her belly swelled and swelled. You see, pixie pregnancy is a shorter process than the human cycle. For pixies, it takes 2 weeks until they give birth, whereas for humans, it takes 9 months._**

**_Anyway, fellow creatures in the creature society noticed the swelling of Serenity's belly, and did not know of her husband. They drove her out, thinking she was having an illegitimate child, and she was alone. Everyone, even her family, shunned her. Later, the ignoring became hostile, and it turned to hate. Yet, Serenity's love for David and their children was greater than her peoples' hate. She persevered, and on the night when she was able to meet with David, she was planning on telling him the great news. Once she was done with her explanation, her breathing became labored, and she fell backwards. In a swift, smooth, movement, David was behind her._**

_"_**_It's time, my love." She replied, her breath coming in short pants._**

**_David carried her to the home he prepared for all of them, and placed her on the bed. After a while, 1 head was visible; and soon after that, 3 babies came out. _**

**_Serenity and David were so happy! They were blessed with 2 girls and a boy. Their first daughter had curly pink hair, and their father's green eyes. Their second daughter had red tufts of hair, and ice blue eyes. And last, their son had white hair, and silver eyes._**

**_They named their first daughter Sakura, the second daughter Hanabi, and their son named Yuki. All 3 children had more pixie-like features, from their mother. So, as a joke, David and Serenity declared their children to be 'faeries', human and pixie combined._**

_The grandmother and child seemed to talk again, and still Sakura could not understand them. This time, she couldn't exactly try to guess either. But from the tones of their voices, she could tell that the little boy was excited._

. . .

_Hold on.._

_A baby with pink hair and green eyes? Named __**Sakura**__?! Wait a minute, wait a minute! How in the world did her mind conjure up this dream?!_

-

**A/N: And there you have it. Hehe..uh..I'm sorry it was sort of a pointless chapter. O.e But I felt bad for not updating soon enough.. Please forgive me! Ah, and. Okay, usually I hate Ino, Tenten, and Hinata. But, its not exactly..a 'hate'. I don't know what it is. Sorry! -Gasp-! I wonder how Sakura dreamed of Sasori's memory!? They haven't even met yet!!**

**Thank you for reading! Until next time.**

**Oh, and my rants; if you care. Lul!**

**-I don't really like Ino; so in my fanfictions she usually turns out to be a super bitch or a not so like-able character, in my opinion(Like in A High School Story). Lul, and I don't really like to have her as Sakura's best friend. For this fanfiction—we'll see, won't we? XP**

**-Lul, I don't like Tenten with Neji. I'm sorry, NejiTen fans! I'm not sure why. I just like NejiSaku better. XD In some other people's fanfictions, I like the way they write Tenten, but that's a fair few. And yes, she was exactly what Ino had accused..an expensive whore. XD Just because I feel like being mean. And no, Neji doesn't believe what Ino said. He's not one to hire a whore; not even in my fanfictions. I like Neji! But he believes that Tenten is a nice companion..but, we'll seeee.**

**-Hinata. She's sorta meek for my tastes, the way she is in most fanfictions I read. But hey, the authors wanna keep'm in character ;D. Besides, a lot of people like Hinata because she's so shy. When I write her, I usually like to pair her up as Sakura's best friend. That way, Sakura, loud and boisterous balances out nicely with quiet Hinata. ^-^ Eh..I don't know why I'm talking about her though, she's not even in the story. I haven't decided if I want her in or out yet. Lul. O.e' But I hadn't planned for any of these characters to enter either..we'll see.**

****I'm really sorry. Please do not let my thoughts influence how you take my story. My views are different from yours, maybe. ^-^ **


	5. LATE, Karin the Witch, FIRED, Meeting

A/N: It's been too long.

Disclaimer applied.

Chapter 5

There was something nudging her side, constantly—albeit gently. Honestly, Sakura still didn't want to wake up, but she peeled her eyes open a bit too quickly and hissed as the sunlight leaked into them. She looked down to where she was being nudged to find Zander and Destiny, kneading her side. She smiled at them, "Good morning, Mister and Missus Kittykat," she replied, patting them both on the head. The two started to purr loudly, rubbing up against her. She giggled, but pushed them away from her. "Nuh uh, what time is it," she glanced at the wall clock across from her and her eyes opened wide. It was 7:15..A.M.

"OH NO! I'm going to be late! Uchiha-sama's gonna be soooo pissed!" Sakura cried, jumping out of bed, startling the cats. The two lazy beings watched as their mistress ran about the house, like a decapitated chicken. One moment, she would be running around in her room, the next, she went down stairs. Sakura screamed "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!! NO!" as she took a hurried shower. As she got out, she hadn't bothered to dry her long locks, just yanked a brush through them. She threw on some long white tights, a black skirt, and a black blazer with a white tank top underneath. She grabbed her stuff and stuffed it into her bag, looked over her shoulder and bid her kitties goodbye, and ran through her house and out of the door as if the hellhounds themselves were at her heels. Standing at the front door of the apartment complex, she felt the strange feeling of being watched. She looked both ways, and shrugged it off as paranoia. Ignoring the strange feeling, she ran quickly to the nearest hotel, and tried to hail a cab.

One stopped for her, and she smiled tentatively at the driver. "Late again, Saku-chan. Tsk, this better not become a habit!" Kankuro teased, opening her door for her. Kankuro was a strange, albeit kind friend. He had shaggy brown hair, a wide friendly grin, and mysterious purple and red tattoos on his face. Sakura merely rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh, "Please, Kankuro..just get me there—or else Sasuke's gonna have my ass." He nodded and started the car, already knowing full well where her destination was. The car ride was full of laughs and fun—and had she known any better, she would have noticed that Kankuro was deliberately distracting her so she wouldn't be so wound up.

Arriving at the tall, _Paper Fan Industries_ building, he smiled kindly at her. "Eh, you're late enough as it is. You'll just have to pay me back with some of your home cooking, now won't you?" He winked at her as she rolled her eyes. "Fine, but just make sure you tell Gaara-kun and Temari-neechan that they're invited." He nodded at her and she smiled at him, gave a final wave, and then quickly turned on her heel and ran into the building.

People in the lobby greeted her with either warm "hello"s, a friendly wave, or an icy glare. (Coughwomencough)

"Sakura-san! Good morning!" an over friendly voice called—more like mocked. Sakura turned to see Sasuke's self proclaimed "Number One Fan", and stared deadpan at her. "Looks like you're late, bitch." She whispered, a friendly smile pasted on her overly made up face. God, the woman just made Sakura sick.

Karin, was not only a despicable woman, she was also the sole reason why Sakura rarely went to Sasuke's office (to make corrections or help him). Sakura had no idea how the ignorant woman even made it INTO _Paper Fan Industries_, since Sasuke **certainly** hadn't liked her. But what was there to like? She obviously did not belong in this type of working environment—the one she truly seemed to belong to, had tall firefighter poles (not intended for firefighters), loud blaring music, and tons of perverted men. Sakura rolled her eyes, but otherwise kept her face blank. "Excuse me, Karin-witch, but I must excuse myself from your presence—its making me _sick_." She stabbed back. By now, all of the people in the lobby were staring at the two, holding their breaths. Electricity was in the air, and if you concentrated hard enough, you could see the imaginary red spark between their eyes.

"Hmph, whatever," came her unintelligible reply. Sakura turned quickly on her heel, her long hair whipping like a hair model's—and smacked Karin in the face. The red head glared daggers at Sakura and growled, "BITCH, YOU GET YOUR ASS BACK" but she was cut off by a bemused Uchiha. "Miss Oto, my office." The duckbutt headed one replied tightly, his voice void of emotions. Karin smiled like a lovesick puppy, "Coming Sasuke-kunnn!"

"_Woah! I think I just lost a few IQ points_."Sakura thought. She shivered unnoticeably but Sasuke caught it. "Forgive my assistant, Sakura-san." He replied plainly, blankly. However, in his always guarded eyes, she really _did_ see that he was sorry. She decided to be nice and just smiled, nodding. "Hn, I have to get to Uchiha-sama before I get into more trouble. Thank you." Exactly. She hadn't said a thing about forgiving the bitch. Pfft.

Sasuke, had he been any other man, (except the Ice Queen, Itachi), he would have laughed at her use of the Uchiha language.

The little pixie faced girl bowed to the crowd respectfully, "Excuse me, please!" and she quickly ran to the elevator and disappeared from everybody's sight. The little lady at the front desk sighed and rolled her eyes affectionately, "Some day, Saku-chan will definitely kill Karin-bitch," she muttered, as she signed Sakura in.

-

Itachi was standing with his back facing the door of his office, staring out of his huge window. His head rested against the cool glass, one hand on the window, the other running through his hair. _"What is wrong with me? Things are just so strange to me.."_ He thought. You see, all morning he had been wanting to see Sakura for some reason—it was like some random urge to always have her with him. And, being the supersmart-but-still-daft man he was, he found himself confused. Not only was he thinking strange thoughts, wanting strange things—he felt oddly worried that Sakura was late. However, he was not worried about the money and time being lost—he was worried if something had happened to her. But, it wasn't like something was special about her, right? No, it couldn't be. He was merely the worried best friend he always was—pfft.

Suddenly, he heard a loud crash, followed by a string of words to substitute colorful curses.

"SON OF A WITCH! THAT LITTLE…ARGH!" and another crash. Yes, Sakura arrived—and he felt himself oddly at peace, even more than usual. He opened the door to his office and leaned against the doorway, watching as she frantically was getting things ready, while still trying to pull her coat off. He smirked smugly—"Having fun, Kura-chan?" he replied. At the sound of his voice, she went rigid and slowly turned her head to see him. She smiled sheepishly, taking a final yank to get her coat off—however, it hadn't played out as cool as she wished, and she ended up on the floor. Itachi chuckled and stood over her as she stared pleadingly up at him. He found he couldn't resist, and he held out a hand to help her up. She smiled gratefully and took his hand, her face growing pink, as she brushed imaginary dust off.

Clearing her throat, Sakura said, "Uhm, what can I do for you this morning, Itachi-sama?" She stared anywhere but at him, and strangely—it hadn't settled well with him. In a commanding voice, "Sakura, look at me." He replied. She took her sweet time, but finally her eyes snapped to his. "Eheh.." she tittered, blushing madly. She was so embarrassed! Usually if she DID trip and fall like that, Itachi was in the next room and couldn't see it—oh man, this was certainly not her day. And now, she was probably going to be scolded by her best friend.

However, Itachi surprised her and gave her that soft smile reserved for her. "I need you to find all of the e-mails from the Yakimura Corporation, print them out, highlight the subject line of each, and have them on my desk by two o'clock." His voice was no longer the commanding tone, but the gentle one he used when talking to either her, or his mother. She nodded at him and waited for him to return to his office—when his door finally closed, she let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. _"Oh man, I totally thought Itachi was going to scold me."_ She thought, sighing in relief. She sat at her desk and opened Outlook Express to complete the task she was given. _"Ugh, and I still have to give Sasuke his reports—I'll probably have to deal with Karin again."_ But for now, Sakura focused on the task Itachi had given her, smiling the whole time.

-

Sasori woke up to the yelling from his angel. "OH NO! I'm going to be late! Uchiha-sama's going to be soooo pissed!" Sasori smirked, and rolled onto his side, facing his window. He couldn't see her or anything, but he could just imagine her, rushing around like a decapitated chicken, the two creepy cats watching her. He decided that he too, should wake up. He dragged himself out of bed, immediately wishing the warm comfort of his bed when his feet touched the cold floor. He hissed and ran a hand through his hair. "Fucking cold building," he grumped, standing up. He stretched, crossing his arms behind his head and bending back until he heard a "Pop!" Sighing contentedly, he padded to his bathroom and took a shower, brushed his teeth, and combed his hair.

When he was finished, he dressed in a black button up shirt with black slacks, black shoes. Finally throwing on his outer wear, he left his apartment and watched the neighboring building's door, waiting to see his faerie come out. She came soon enough, but then she looked both ways—he quickly hid himself—and she started running towards the Lexington Hotel. Wait, hotel?! Whattt?! She was supposed to work today, right?

He followed her—discreetly as always. He pretended to just be wandering, staring at stuff as he passed. She hadn't even noticed, good thing. Finally, when he got there, he saw her get into a cab. _"Well, I guess she IS going to work then."_ He thought, hailing a cab.

The ride was over and he instructed the driver to drop him off at a restaurant that was 3 doors down from the _Paper Fan_ building. He entered the café and seated himself, and soon enough a young man came to take his order. _"Breaking Dawn Café, huh?"_ he thought, looking around the place. It was actually quite nice—a red, black, and white setting. Very modern. His thoughts were interrupted by a long blonde haired person, looking a lot like that girl from the Purple Cow. However, this one had slightly darker blond hair and a deeper ocean blue for eyes. Also, their face was a bit more masculine—a man, perhaps? No one would ever know—especially since he was wearing thick black eyeliner.

"I'd like some red tea, please." Sasori replied sagely, his eyes subtly following Sakura around as she seemed to argue with some skanky looking red head. (The lobby had floor to ceiling windows, lolz.) The waiter didn't bother to comment on the curt attitude of the handsome man—and he tried to ignore how he was watching the building a few doors down so intently. In fact, he hurried away as if Sasori were the freakin' plague.

Sasori hadn't minded though, he just watched the exchange between the two, wishing he were able to hear it.

"I'm going to do it today," he mumbled. "I'm going to talk to her." The waiter came in at that point, and decided the red head in front of him wasn't so bad. He set down the tea gently, careful to not spill the hot contents. He looked in the direction of what Sasori was staring at—and saw two women.

"Which one?" he replied, expecting the other man to not even answer him. "..Pink.." Sasori replied, turning his head to look at the blond, as Sakura ran into the elevator.

"Not bad, she's pretty sweet lookin'. Name's Deidara!" the blond said cheekily, pointing at his nametag. Sasori raised a brow, "I can read." Deidara merely rolled his eyes, dismissing the nonchalant man. "What are you planning to do to her?" he asked, not even bothering to care that what he asked might sound vulgar. The red head narrowed his eyes.

"Paint her." He replied. Suddenly, Deidara's eyes sparkled. "You're an artist?" he asked excitedly. Brow raised yet again, Sasori nodded slowly. "Hn." Deidara smiled widely and pointed at himself again. "Me too! I do sculptures—and then I blow them up. Yeah," he sighed dreamily. "Art—it's just fleeting beauty, isn't it?" he asked, interested in talking to a fellow artist.

Sasori smirked and closed his eyes, "Negative. Art is long lasting beauty, forever preserved." He replied, opening his eyes to see the blond's reaction. He started to go a little red, "I'd have to disagree," he replied sniffing, and turning to go back into the kitchen. _"Heh, pansy..and to think—I thought he might be interesting and have some intelligent response. Too bad."_ Sasori thought. _"I suppose I'll stick here until she's off,"_ he thought—trying to ignore how much he felt like a creepy person. He shivered. He'd be glad when he finally tracked her down and had her.

-

Sakura finished finding the e-mails, all 7,236 of them. She looked at the clock on her desk and sighed. "At least its only 8:15. I still have time to highlight these stupid things," she mumbled. She reached into her desk and searched for a highlighter—and finally pulled out a red one. Itachi liked things highlighted with red.

She stared blandly at the papers in front of her. Turn page; highlight. Turn page; highlight. Oh god, only 7,234 left.

Soon enough, it was 11:30—time to get Itachi lunch. She get up, smoothed her skirt, and knocked on the door.

"Hn." _Enter._

Sakura slowly opened the door and poked her head in. "Would you like your usual lunch, Itachi-sama?" she replied softly, so she wouldn't disturb the quiet atmosphere that was his office. He typed intensely, clacking noises sounded throughout the room—and then he looked up. "Yes, please. How are the e-mails coming?" he replied, staring back at her instead of his screen, as he usually would. Not used to him actually paying this much attention to her in the office, she stammered a little.

"I've found them all, I-Itachi-sama. I just have to highlight 125 more. They'll be on their way soon," she said, staring out the window instead of at him. Again, this seemed to bother him for some reason, and his brows were knit together.

"Sakura-chan.." he started softly, "Is there something wrong?" he looked genuinely concerned. Sakura blinked and came in, instead of hanging on the door frame. She scratched her cheek nervously.

"Eh heh, of course not Itachi-sama. I'm fine! Really, I am." She replied, trying to stare at him. Itachi raised an elegant eyebrow. "Hn." Sakura rolled her eyes, "Alright, fine! It's just that, you don't seem yourself—your office self—today.." she replied nervously, not wanting to make her best friend mad. Itachi blinked—she'd noticed it too? Well, psh. It just wasn't his day. "So Itachi-sama, the question is—are YOU okay?" she replied, looking at him seriously. Itachi felt a weird squirming in his stomach—he'd better get that checked out later. And he started to feel dizzy under her intense gaze.

"Of course I am." He replied—feeling as if this had already happened (which it did). Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and hn'd—Itachi wanted to laugh at her use of his own words against him (heh, take that Sasuke). "Itachi-kun..you're lying." She replied, spinning on her heel and leaving his office, closing the door with a firm noise—net exactly a slam. Oh well, if he didn't want to share, then fine. She could wait. "I'd better go get the dango," she replied. She went down in the elevator, waved to Yoko, and went home to fix Itachi's lunch.

A little while later, she came back and was up on their floor. She knocked on Itachi's door and waited until she heard him say she could come in. She smiled at him, set his dango on his desk, and promptly left. _"Eh? Why'd she leave?"_ he thought, feeling as if she was too disgusted to be in his presence, or something. However, she came back with a thermos. Curious, he raised a brow at her. _What is that? _His eyes asked. Sakura smiled at him and went away again, coming back. This time, she returned with a traditional Japanese tea cup. "I just thought maybe you'd like some special tea today," she smiled as she poured the tea in perfect Japanese protocol. He smiled back at her—this reminded him how she'd throw him tea parties when they were tiny children. Even then, she was such a kind little girl.

When she finished, Sakura bowed respectfully. "Arigato, Kura-chan!" he tried to keep his voice from cracking—strange emotions running through him. Excitement, happiness, smugness, hunger.

Excitement, because—well, it was DANGO!

Happiness, since it was always Sakura who made his favorite food—what's better than having your favorite person make your favorite food?! Wait, what? Favorite person? Ehh!? Eh..well, she _**is**_ his best friend. So, that probably DOES make her his favorite.

Smugness, because nobody else **Sasuke, heheh.** gets her great food **every day**.

Hunger—he'd been sitting there THINKING about the dango, instead of EATING it. Jeez, he'd been working hard all day, fighting with those damn Yakimura—always trying to swindle their supposed "partners". Well, those mergers were just shit, weren't they? Dispelling dark thoughts about the insolent Yakimura, Itachi picked up a dainty stick of dango—and was soon in heaven. He hummed his satisfaction, and Sakura quietly slipped out of the room to let him eat in peace. Still strange—he didn't **want** her to **leave.**

Deciding it was the time to get Sasuke's reports to him, she picked his folder up off of her desk and went to the elevator—and Itachi felt a sinking feeling as she left the floor.

-

Sakura was on the 16th floor now, and in front of a door that read "Uchiha Sasuke" in the nameplate. She sighed quietly and raised her hand to knock, but the door was wrenched open and a pouting Karin came crashing into her. "GET THE HELL OFF ME, YOU FAT BASTARD!" she yelled at Sakura, still not aware that it actually was Sakura—and the fact that SHE was on the other girl. Not that he really cared, Sasuke peeked his head out of the door to see the unlucky schmuck who ran into Karin—or who KARIN ran into, and he saw Sakura on the floor, eyes clenched in pain, rubbing her side. "Itai!" she hissed. Karin opened her eyes and smiled maliciously. "Oh, forgive me Sakura-san—I hadn't seen you there, but you should have watched where you were going." She replied snidely. Suddenly, she saw the shadow that was Sasuke, and she quickly got up, and pointed her finger at Sakura. "SHE HURT ME, SASUKE-KUN!" she accused. Sakura merely sat on the floor, bemused. _"Karin, you stupid woman. I even saw that you were rushing out—and Sakura probably didn't even know the door was going to open and unleash a hellion on her. Tch, stupid.." _Sasuke thought, narrowing his eyes at Karin. She was immediately latched onto him, glaring down at Sakura.

"_What the hell?"_ both Sakura and Sasuke thought at the same time. Sasuke felt mortified, even though this has happened to him countless times. "Remove yourself." He replied stiffly. Sakura snorted at this, which caused Karin to glare heatedly at her. "What's wrong bitch? Can't stand the sight of seeing your love with another woman?" she replied in a "sexy" voice, kissing Sasuke's neck. Sakura still sat there bemused, noticing Sasuke's face—and how it looked like he was trying so hard to not PUKE everywhere.

"No, it's just funny that you can't even do your own work. You just mess around trying to capture Sasuke-sama's attention—even if it is negative. That's not the way to go, you know. You'd be better off by actually doing a good job on your work," Sakura chastised. "Well who are you? Mother Theresa? Fuck you, pink bitch." Karin sneered, clinging even tighter to Sasuke. Finally, he'd just had ENOUGH. His top was blown.

"Get. Off. Of. Me." He bit out, face draining of color—ohhh, she was gonna get it now. Suddenly afraid of his tone, Karin slowly unwound herself from him. "Time and time again, I have told you how you must act in this office. Everything is strictly professional—no **skanky** clothes, no **cursing** at other employees, and definitely **no **_**trying**_**to seduce me**. I've had it with you, Karin! Just pack up your crap and get out of my office!" he screamed, going back into his office, finding a box, and shoving her crap into it. He came back and threw it on the ground and glared at her. "But Sasuke-kun!" she cried, her mascara was running. "And **that**! Who are you to call me so familiarly? I am not your friend, your lover. I am your BOSS. Dressing the way you have, acting the way you have, saying the things you say—I HATE IT. Just take your unprofessional self and get out of _Paper Fan Industries_. We have no need for scatterbrained whores." He continued, not missing a beat. "But, I'm a great worker! I have recommendations!" she tried to give Sasuke puppy eyes—but combined with the fact that they wouldn't work on him (unless she was Sakura *cough*) and that her running make up made it look disgusting, she obviously wasn't going to get anywhere.

Sakura hadn't even felt the least bit of sympathy for the other woman. Everything Sasuke had said about her had been correct. But no, he wasn't done yet.

"Great worker? Tch. Everything I ask you to do is either ignored, done poorly, or shoved onto somebody else! You were hired as an assistant—and if you can't assist me, then you are of no use to me. Besides, I checked you out," at this, Karin smiled smugly, "and those recommendations were by those who were either forgers, or people who were black mailed. Therefore, they were everytype of invalid." He replied flatly, immediately wiping that ugly grin she had off her face. Karin picked her box up, giving one last "sexy" look (even though God knows how it won't work, since she's so messed up looking..) "I'll make you sorry, Sasuke-kun. You'll be begging for me to come back, but you know what? I won't." she replied haughtily, holding her nose up in the air as she walked away, to the elevator. She tried to push the down button, but couldn't get it with her hands full. "Uh, pink bitch, can you help?" she asked. Sakura raised an eye brow, and was about to help her, "No, don't." Sasuke replied, stopping her. Karin glared at Sakura, "Stupid bitch—you're probably fucking everybody in this building anyway." Fuming, Sakura narrowed her eyes to slits and glared at the red head. _"Come on, Sakura,"_ she told herself _"She's definitely not worth it—you could lose your job if you get in a scuffle with her—even if it __**is**__ her fault. Just leave it go." _Sasuke noticed the feral look in Sakura's eyes—and he wouldn't even try to stop her if she actually DID end up killing the stupid bitch. _"I have NO idea how father saw her as a potential love match for me—she hasn't got a brain. She could never be a wife of an Uchiha."_ He thought darkly, honestly hoping Sakura DID let herself loose.

"Tch." Sakura replied—sort of, and turned her back to the infuriating woman. Sasuke was a bit disappointed—but Sakura bent down and picked up a dark blue folder, which he knew was for him, and smiled at him. He felt his hatred for the red head dim; Sakura always had this strange way of making him feel much better—without having to do anything.

"Here you go, Sasuke-sama. All corrected. Just check them in case you want something done differently," she replied. Sasuke took the folder from her and opened it, paging through the colorful reports—these weren't the colors he used. _"Uh oh—Stupid Karin must have written these completely wrong!" _he thought darkly, the hatred coming back full blast. He looked over Sakura's shoulder and glared at the red head that was still standing there, crying like the helpless wretch she was. Feeling the eyes on her, Karin looked up at Sasuke and batted her eyes at him. _"Heh, sucker already wants me back. Easy!" _She thought. Sasuke merely glared at her. "Don't you have somewhere to go?!" he barked, throwing a random stapler at her. She winced and screamed as the offending object hit her in the knee. "OW! SASUKE-BABY, WHY?!" she cried some more. Sakura was really getting tired of this, and she stomped over to Karin. "Karin.." she started, Karin glared at Sakura, and sniffed. "What, pink bitch?" Sakura narrowed her eyes, and before anybody could blink, Karin had a black eye. BOOM BOOM POW!

Yes, exactly—Sakura **punched** her. The sheer force of Sakura's punch sent Karin flying backwards, into the elevator that finally came. Sakura smiled sweetly and waved. "Sayonara." She replied, voice dripping with venom, and she sent the elevator off. Sasuke sat there the whole time—expecting Sakura to do SOMETHING—but not expecting her to hit Karin like that. He wasn't exactly "dumbstruck", or "shocked"—just caught off-guard. *Psh* Instead of continuing to gawk at Sakura, he looked at her seriously. "Sakura-chan, Karin was the one who wrote those reports for me—I knew it would've been risky to accept something from her. But at least I have you to check for that kind of stuff to prevent anything bad, ne?" he replied—sort of kindly. Sakura, and his other best friend Naruto, were the only people that saw him like this. Sakura smirked at her friend and bowed. "Why thank you for your kind words, Sasuke-sama," she mocked. Sasuke only rolled his eyes, "Shouldn't you return to Ice Queen before he kicks my ass later?" he replied, still proud of himself for making up Itachi's nickname. Sakura giggled, "What was that regulation about not cursing in the office, hm?" Sasuke just glared at her, playfully, and pointed at the elevator. "Seriously—he'll kick my ass." Sakura decided to just be good girl and walked to the elevator. "I expect you to do better, now that she's gone," she called behind her. Sasuke returned the comment with a smirk and nodded.

_-_

Sakura returned to her own floor, and then she sat herself down at her desk. She stared at the foreboding looking pile of papers, and started to highlight the subject lines of the emails. Even though she sat through over seven thousand others, these last few emails really made her realize just how boring it was. She sighed deeply, once again wishing she almost done—but even though she was there for the whole fight and firing of Karin, It was still only 1:15. It was still the boring page turn, then highlight. Page turn, then highlight. It was as though her fight with Karin was the only eventful thing in the day.

Finally finished with her monotonous work, Sakura piled the printouts neatly, and ordered them by date—first sent, to the most recent. When she was finished, she paper clipped them together and put them in a red folder. Next, she labeled the folder neatly. Now, it was perfect and ready for Itachi. When she was finished, knocked on Itachi's door. The usual "Hn" sounded, and she went in. "I have the emails. They're organized by date and subject lines are highlighted in red." She reported, bowing her head respectfully at Itachi. He smirked at her—"I said 2:00, had I not?" he replied. Sakura winced. _"Oh..why is Itachi such a time stickler?!"_ she whined mentally. "..Yes." she answered. His smirk turned into a mocking grin, "It is 1:57." He deadpanned. "So, I suppose you'll just have to sit here and wait. I cannot accept it until it is 2:00," he reasoned. _"Why the hell am I not just taking it and thanking her? God, she's just the perfect worker and now I'm probably tormenting her. She'll probably punch me out later." _Itachi winced subtly, remembering a punch that dislocated his jaw—from a twelve year old Sakura.. Ah, those were the days.

Sakura huffed. Oh, he was sooo, going to get it—but that'd have to wait for later. She stood there respectfully, however and kept her eyes on the floor. Itachi opened a new word document and started to intensely type random nonsense—to seem like he was doing something. But in actuality, he was watching Sakura. He noticed that she seemed to always have some strange grace—even if she hadn't believed it. Whenever she walked, there was a confidence—but not arrogance. She wouldn't sway her hips or stick her ass out. She'd walk with her back straight and shoulders squared—and her steps were soft. Not loud, hunkering stomps. Also, he'd noticed that her eyes always sparkled with some strange viridian flame—it was absolutely inextinguishable.

"Times up, here are your emails, Itachi-sama," she replied. "I have the emails. They're organized by date and subject lines are highlighted in red." She reported—again. She set them on his desk—although she'd felt the urge to slam them down. Itachi smiled at her, "Good job. You are excused for the day," he replied and turned back to his nonsense document. Sakura turned and started to walk away, and Itachi's eyes averted and watched her leave—and he felt that sinking feeling again. _"Definitely gotta get that checked out,"_ he thought.

-

Sakura had gathered her stuff from her desk and threw it into her bag, leaving the place clean. She put on her coat, gloves, and strung her scarf around her neck. "Goodbye, Itachi-sama!" she called, heading for the elevator. Once inside the elevator, she put her bag on the floor and heaved a deep sigh, sliding to the floor. "Such a boring day.." she mused. The elevator 'binged', and the door opened—it wasn't her stop. The person who walked in was none other than Naruto. When he saw her on the ground, his cerulean eyes immediately widened in concern. "SAKURA-CHAN! ARE YOU OKAY!?" he cried, grabbing her arm. Sakura looked up at him and smiled softly, "I'm fine—just bored." She replied, and Naruto let go of her arm. "..Are you sure you're okay? You usually don't sit on floors of elevators," he reasoned. Sakura rolled her eyes, "Pfft, Naruto..I'm just tired." She replied. She stood up and narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest. "Happy?"

The blond grinned that foxy grin of his. Sakura's eyes went back to normal and she closed her eyes. Yes, this was the Naruto she'd always known. Caring, kind, overly concerned, overly protective. Too bad he hadn't inkling that she was a grown woman now. She averted her eyes to Naruto, who was messing around with his orange black and orange striped tie. Spiky blond hair—bright blue eyes—whisker marks. Today he wore a black suit, his orange and black tie, and carried an orange folder. "What do you have there, Naruto?" she asked him, pointing at the folder. "Oh, this? It's just some report Sasuke made me do—bastard!" he muttered. Sakura sweatdropped—did **everybody** swear in this place? Especially when they're not supposed to? Jeez. The elevator 'binged' again and Sakura picked up her bag. "See you later, then! Bye!" she called behind her, running out of the elevator.

-

Sasori looked at his watch—not time yet.

-

"Eh, I'm hungry.." Sakura mumbled, as she came closer to the front desk. Yoko looked up and smiled brightly at her. "I saw Karin walk out with her box—does that mean..?" she trailed off, looking like an excited munchkin. Sakura smirked, "Why, I have no idea what you're talking about," she said. Yoko's smile became even bigger, if that were possible. "Noo..you didn't!" and she started to giggle, putting a hand on her mouth to muffle the noise. "You're so bad, Sakura-chan!" she said between gasps. Sakura started to giggle along with her. "Well, Itachi-sama released me. So, unless he makes me run out and get something, I'll see you tomorrow!" she exclaimed, signing herself out. She turned and gave Yoko a last smile and wave—which were returned.

Once out of the building, Sakura stood outside, just looking around. "Hm..if I recall, there was a café somewhere here…" and there it was—the Breaking Dawn Café. "Well, might as well try it. What could possibly go wrong?" she smiled at herself—jeez, people were going to think she was totally crazy, just standing in the middle of the sidewalk talking to herself. She walked slowly to the café and as she reached for the door's handle, a blond man opened it for her. "Welcome to the Breaking Dawn Café! How may I be of service today?" he asked. Sakura stared at him and then smiled. "..A table please," she replied. Deidara grabbed a menu and set it on the table next to Sasori. "Tell me when you're ready—my name is Deidara when you need me." He smiled at her and disappeared somewhere in the back. Sakura raised a brow, but dismissed it and opened her menu. _"Hmm..maybe a fruit salad..?"_

-

He'd watched her walk towards the café, discreetly of course. _"This makes it a little easier.."_ he thought, staring into his cup of tea. Sakura was just about to open the door, but that sly cad Deidara opened the door for her. He couldn't hear what the two were saying, but Deidara sat her down at the next table over. Sasori still looked down, not wanting to blow his cover just yet—and make her totally think he was some random stalker. (Even if that was almost exactly what he was..) She seemed to stare at Deidara strangely and finally looked down at her menu. Sasori just stared at her—not OHMYGOD HEARTS IN MY EYES! Stare, but sort of, '..hm…'. _"She's such a beautiful girl—her pixie like features. She's definitely the ideal girl.."_ he kept assuring himself.

Sakura looked up, ready to order. She waited patiently, but couldn't help the feeling of being watched. She averted her eyes to the person sitting at the table next to her, and she saw a rather beautiful red head—but he was staring back at her. Sakura widened her eyes, then quickly looked back down at her menu, pretending like she was reconsidering. _"He sorta looks like the little boy from my dream! Except..older. And he seems sorta—scary looking.." _Sakura sweatdropped at her last thought. She snuck another glance at him, but he was staring down at his tea. She looked away again—but when he sensed her eyes were off of him, he moved his eyes onto her. However, Sakura caught him again. She narrowed her eyes a bit, "..May I help you, sir?" she replied curtly. Sasori flashed her a small smile—Sakura was drawn in. The red head definitely didn't seem like he smiled much…so why would he grace her with one? She merely blinked at him. "Well, I need a model. I am an artist, and you have the perfect complexion." He replied, albeit a bit shyly. His cheeks turned a slight pink and he averted his eyes. Sakura stared at him. "..I don't know you, sir. And are you sure? There's definitely nothing special about me." She said flatly. Sasori's eyes widened fractionally. "Are you kidding? You're so—pixie-like. If **faeries** existed, they'd definitely look like you. And that is why I need you as my model—up to now, I've been trying to paint something based off of the Faerie Legend that my grandmother had told me.." he finally fixed his gaze back on her. "But then I saw you—and I got this perfect idea. I just need you to spend a week with me, and you'll never have to see me again. What do you say?" _"Yeah right, a week? No…Sakura will be __**mine**__."_

Sakura chewed on her bottom lip, brow furrowed. What should she choose..?


End file.
